


Not In Kansas Anymore

by zipzipnada



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), X men first class, X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Charles is on a mission to adopt Alex and Peter, Darwin Lives, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Peter is a Mutant, Time Travel Fix-It, Tom Holland Spiderman, X-Men: First Class Fix It, in the xmfc reality but still spider bite enhanced in his original, it makes more sense in the story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2018-12-16 03:29:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11820297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zipzipnada/pseuds/zipzipnada
Summary: Oh god, oh god. He's time traveled - Time traveled!- and before the thought that he's not in Kansas anymore can finish, the pleasant laughing man on the ground below spontaneously turned in his seat, hooking his arm over the back of it, and looked right at him.Which is insane. And what was even more insane was that he had a huge grin on his face as though Peter were the best thing he'd ever seen in his life."Hello there friend, care to come down? We won't bite, I promise you" As soon as the words leave his mouth, the gathering below all look up too with expressions varying from confused to shocked, and the red haired guy gives off an alarmingly loud yelp that he cuts off with his hands: Peter gives it to him that it probably is a little scary suddenly seeing a kid stuck to the ceiling.-In which Peter finds himself launched back to 1962, and unbeknownst to him an entirely different reality after being hit by Thanos during the battle, and ends up enrolled on a mission to prevent World War III. All while trying to work out how to get back home.[ hiatus ]





	1. Chapter 1

The last thing he sees is Thanos' clenched fist pointing his way, mouth stretched out in a wide smile and the shock of coloured light shooting out towards him.

The last thing he hears is Wanda and Scott's voices shrieking wordlessly from near by, the closest to him, and Doctor Strange shouting for him to move.

The last thing he feels is a sudden lurch in his gut, like how G-Force used to feel before his body became enhanced, as the light touched him, burning him-

And then all of a sudden he was in a road, a horn blaring at him, faster than even his spider-sense can keep up, and Peter barely managed to dart out of the way as the vehicle rushed past angrily. Head swimming and eyes watering, Peter stumbled back with eyes squeezed shut and fell down onto a soft patch of lawn by the road.

Above him the dark void of space had shifted back into bright, happy Earthly sunshine. The smell was soft, warm, safe, not at all like the crushing bile-rising ozone of the dusty battleground he'd just been swinging through, and Peter rolled over to bury his face in the thick grass to breathe in the calming scent of normalcy; letting out a deep, exhausted sigh as he did so.

A sigh that then broke into a squeak when he realised he was feeling the grass on his skin. The prickle of each blade and the cool, subtle damp of morning dew tickled all over his lips, nose and cheeks, and when Peter opened his eyes, he was met by the almost heavenly sight of sunshine through a swash of green.

With more force than he meant, Peter jerked back up and slapped a hand to his face, both checking for his mask and to wipe off the droplets of water. It stung his nose, but Peter couldn't focus on any of that when his wide eyes stared at his bare hand. Bare hands that lead down to arms clad in what looked like a puffy blue summer jacket, lined with gaudy red plaid, and as Peter patted himself down and scrambled back to better see himself it only got worse.

His suit was _gone_. He was in civilian clothes. Nasty, old looking civilian clothes. He was _alone_. Where-

"Hey! You, this is a secure facility, how did you get here?" A voice exploded, tinkering on the edges of Peter's awareness.

"Hey!" The second shout snapped Peter out of his rising panic, chest heaving with stuttering breaths, and he looked up to see the car he'd almost collided with stopped a few yards away. The doors had been flung open and two suited men were stepping out, one of them shouting as he rounded on the kid, while the other observed from his side of the car.

"Get up" The first man barked, coming to a halt just before Peter. He glared down, looking angrier than anyone Peter had seen before, which was saying something having just seemingly teleported from a battlefield, and all Peter can do is gawp at him.

His jaw worked, trying to summon any words to defend himself, but Peter couldn't shake the haze pulsing through his head, and all he could muster were vague squeaks that seemed to only make the first man angrier. "I said get up, you're coming with us. What'd you think you're doing trespassing on a se-"

Man number two seemed to have decided to take pity on Peter.

"Stand down, agent. Look at the kid" The second man walked up to them then, his posture just as stern as the first, but his expression kinder. His hand reached out and he leaned down to offer Peter a hand up- which after a moment of processing, Peter accepted. His grip was firm and hauled Peter up before he had the chance to lift himself, and the older man's lips quirked when the kid stumbled on the spot. "You one of Professor Xavier's?"

Out comes nothing but a scramble of words.

Whatever Thanos did, Peter can't yet speak. Can't yet translate everything he's seeing. It's nothing but a fog. The meaningless shifts of his head must have looked like a nod, as the older man have a quick welcome smile and released Peter's hand, turning to the first man- Agent Angry, Peter decided in the back of his addled mind- with an attitude only a superior officer would have.

"Sir-"

"There you have it, agent. This boy's one of our guests"

The tone he used made Peter want to shrink, and in contrast Agent Angry bristled. He looked ready to say something more, casting Peter a dirty look, but the older man had already turned his attention back to their unexpected guest. "Come on, son, let's get you back to base and you can explain how you ended up on the back road- you go for a walk or something? Best not do that again, ya hear?"

There's a hand on his arm, and he's being pulled into the car, and all Peter can do is numbly follow and grunt in agreement. As soon as his body hits the leather seats of the car, his vision goes out. 

* * *

 

When Peter woke, his mind had caught up with whatever shift Thanos had put him through.

The haze had passed, leaving only a faint migraine in it's place, and this time instead of standing in a road Peter was lying on a hard mattress with a blanket haphazardly tossed over his prone form. Remembering the Black Widow's training, Peter took a deep breath and collected himself. Reeling in the spark of panic that met him when he woke up in the unfamiliar setting.

First breath. _What is your status?_

Uninjured. Peter noted, smoothing his hands over his body and noting no points of pain. He's the opposite of injured in fact, he hasn't just woken up with no additional injuries, his previous ones are gone; the graze on his knee, the gash down his collar bone, the cut he remembered getting after Falcon's wing clipped him during free fall from a back hand from Thanos. He doesn't have his suit, which alarmed him, but he is clothed at least and there's no sign of any collars.

Second breath. _Where are you?_

He was in a room. Blank, grey walls. Rectangular and long, with a large window at the far end, and a closed door closest to him. The bed he lay on was plain, metal, the mattress thin and basic, and there are twelve identical ones to his left in a row towards the window, and another two leading to the door. In one corner there's a trash can and between each bed is a small desk and a shelf. It was daylight outside, so not a lot of time had passed single he passed out.

Nothing else to note.

Third breath. _Find a way out._

"Okay, Parker" Peter whispered to himself, surprising himself by how calm he sounded. Slowly, unsure on whether the sluggish vertigo from before was still lingering, Peter swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat on the side of the bed, pushing off the blanket.

"Okay, let's do this"

Tentatively, Peter stood up and nodded to himself when the move was as clean as he'd come to expect. He'd recovered from whatever Thanos had done then. He padded to the middle of the room, leaning towards the window and hummed to himself: outside was a plain lawn, neatly kept, and to the far right half out of Peter's view was a bizarre done structure that could have been a small observatory. The window was an option.

Even with the armed men Peter spied patrolling the perimeter of the building, he could if the situation was dire get out through it. The beds were screwed to the floor, but only with a small tug Peter found he could dislodge them easy enough, so he had something to break the glass with other than his bare feet. Which was odd. He remembered having shoes-

"Ah, right. Awesome" Peter said as he turned back around, spotting a discarded pair of shoes under his bed. Whoever had dumped him there had taken the care to remove his shoes first, even though they weren't his shoes, he'd never seen them before in his life. Natasha's voice in his head reminded him that such a small detail told him a lot. For one, the people here weren't actively trying to harm him. For now at least.

Balancing on one foot each time, Peter hurriedly pulled the socks and shoes back on, and fixed the laces in place: attention flitting from the task to the door every few seconds- breath catching when two men passed the small window in the door. They didn't look in, didn't slow, and Peter took another steadying breath. Patrol. He waited. Counting.

Fifteen minutes later exactly, another pair passed the door and Peter started forward, hand reaching for the door handle.

To his surprise it opened easily, almost breaking from the force he'd used, and Peter winced at the clang the latch made.

"How loud can a door be?" He hissed to himself, cringing as he peeked around the frame. Both ways the corridor was long, blank, and lined with the same large windows his room had. He could hear the footsteps of the patrol leaving, but nothing else, and took a breath.

"Here we go" He stepped out into the corridor.

* * *

 

As it turned out, exploring mysterious bases was nowhere near as exciting nor interesting as movies made out.

All the rooms along the first corridor looked the same as the one he had woken up in, and along the second there had been nothing but empty conference rooms and storage closets. Even the passing of the patrol rounds had been uneventful, as Peter jumped up onto the ceiling and watched the unobservant men march on without inspecting... anything. The pair barely glanced at the door he had foolishly left open. He hung low as they left, expression incredulous and flattened himself back onto the ceiling. Opting to remain above for the rest of his search, Peter crawled along further and pondered on something he had noticed upon first entering the corridors.

There were no cameras.

He tapped experimentally on a few spots, trying to locate where cameras could be hidden, and listened for the tell tale buzz of technology, and found nothing. Unobservant guards, no cameras, and no reaction to his door being left open. If Peter didn't know any better he'd almost say he wasn't a prisoner.

In fact, he was pretty sure he wasn't: a thought that confirmed itself when Peter, an hour since waking up, came across, a kitchen come diner set up.

"That's... weird" Peter muttered to himself, sneaking closer and noticing figures in the room.

They looked different from the other people he had seen wandering the halls of the building. Everyone else had been male, white, black suited, and mostly armed, but the people within this room were all in an array of difference. While outside the room everything had been identical, crisp and stale, within the room it was vibrant and loud. The door was left propped open and curiosity burned in Peter enough to have him scrawl over the frame and settle in one of the corners of the room, frozen still as he watched the people below him.

Throughout the room the decor was gaudy, bright colours and odd patterns Peter hadn't seen anywhere except for retro era set movies or shows, with a living room area transitioning into a kitchen area and a dining table. There was even a fish tank on the far wall. Six people were in the room, all gathered in the living room section. Most were sitting, but two were standing and interestingly, they were the two who looked most like those outside of the room: the only difference being that the man wore an unprofessional looking turtleneck sweater, and the second person standing was a smartly dressed woman. She was, Peter marked, the first woman he'd seen so far in the entire facility.

The others lounged with varying levels of calm across the couches, and everyone's attention was on one singular individual. A young man, about the same age as Peter himself, with a mop of red hair and a lazy grin across his face as he spoke to the others, whom all listened as intently as Peter was.

"- no siblings or anything, which I always thought was a bummer" The kid finished off, holding up his hands in a half-shrug. "So there was no one to know about my thing, the nannies always thought I broke the windows and stuff by hand or throwing stuff, n' I didn't even know I wasn't normal until I started touring around"

Another voice jumped in, the only other woman in the room- and the whole building, it felt like- "You toured?"

The guy nodded, as enthusiastically as the blonde girl had called out. "Yeah! I went all the way up to Canada, down to Florida, I've been all over, girl" One of the seated men have a warm chuckle that sent pleasant prickles over Peter's skin. He didn't catch what the others said after that, as his eyes caught something on the wall. Just to the right of the fish tank and sitting on a desk, innocent and unassuming, was a calendar fixed underneath a clock.

August 9th.

1962.

What.

 _What_.

Oh god.

Oh god, oh god. He's time traveled - _Time traveled!_ \- and before the thought that he's not in Kansas anymore can finish, the pleasant laughing man on the ground below spontaneously turned in his seat, hooking his arm over the back of it, and looked right at him.

Which is _insane_. And what was even more insane was that he had a huge grin on his face as though Peter were the best thing he'd ever seen in his life.

"Hello there friend, care to come down? We won't bite, I promise you" As soon as the words leave his mouth, the gathering below all look up too with expressions varying from confused to shocked, and the red haired guy gives off an alarmingly loud yelp that he cuts off with his hands: Peter has to admit it probably is a little scary suddenly seeing a kid stuck to the ceiling.

The blonde girl gets over her shock first and lets out a tinkering laugh, as delighted by the sight of him as the soft spoken man who'd outed him, and the gawping guy next to her with heavy thick glasses and a shirt buttoned up so high Peter wondered how he wasn't choking, closed his slack jaw with a click. Using them as a queue, the red haired boy moved his hands away from his mouth and gave Peter a small wave, expression easing from surprised back to his old relaxed smile.

"Hey, dude!" Peter waved back, awkward. Their reactions are tamer than the reactions of the two standing people. The woman reached to her side the moment she turned and spied him in her peripherals, but something stopped her from pulling out any weapons and her eyes darted to the gentle man and back again, seemingly reluctant to relax. There was some silent communication there, Peter thought, as the woman looked to the man and gave a sigh. Unable to help himself, Peter found it amusing that she rolled her eyes.

The turtleneck man remained tense.

"Where did you come from?" He demanded.

Peter gaped. "I- Um- I..."

The soft spoken, nice man reached out with a smile, his fingers just touching the sleeve of his tense friend. "It's alright, Erik. This is Peter, he's one of ours"

"Where did he come from? We didn't collect him" True. Peter looked at the first man, struck by how blue his eyes are, and waited on what the other would say.

"I collected him myself this morning, you remember my errand? I found him by chance and brought him back here" It's all lies, and Peter blinked at him in amazement.

The tall, bespectacled man frowned. "There's no Peter on the list this close by-"

At the same time, 'Erik' barked out "You went out to a prospect alone? Without back up?"

"Why don't you come down, Peter? I'm sure the couches are far more comfortable than the ceiling" The first man plowed on, ignoring his companions.

Peter debated making a break for it. None of them look ready to attack anymore, 'Erik' is still scowling but no longer looked like he was going to try anything, and the two younger members of the group look like they'd sooner run up and hug him than harm him. None of them would pursue if he ran...

_You're quite right, Peter. If you want to leave no one will stop you. But maybe give us a chance?_

Peter flinched at the voice in his head, eyes widening as he looked back at the soft spoken man, who's welcoming grin has turned serene and expectant.

"Our friend here is a little skittish, you'll have to forgive his behaviour" The soft spoken man said to the others, who're all staring at Peter in a way that makes him uncomfortable.

There's no aggression here and it's jarring having come from a place of violence. Thanos' fist crushing down to the ground, shock waves of destruction tearing closer and close-

 _Calm your mind. You are not there anymore. You're here, with me, safe. My name is Charles Xavier. You are safe here_.

The rising bile and panic inside him suddenly settled. Unnaturally, and he shot Charles a curious look.

"Hey, Peter, it's okay. You can come down. We're all like you, you don't have to be scared" The blonde girl said as she stood up, gracefully moving close to him with expression open. She offered a hand up to him, like a gentler parallel to the one offered to him outside.

She looked up at him with trust, innocence, and Peter reached out against the screaming warnings in his head and took her hand. Her face lit up and her small laugh was echoed in three others when he dropped down to the ground effortlessly.

Erik cast them all a glare before leaving, and Charles spared a moment to give Peter an apologetic smile before jogging after his friend: the older woman lifted a finger to the group.

"None of you leave, got it? None of you are permitted to leave this room. We'll be right back" And then she darted out in their wake.

Peter could hear her cursing them under her breath as she did so.

Holding on tightly to his hand, the blonde girl lead him over to the long couch where she had been sat beside the taller boy. She reminded him again that it was okay. Peter almost believed her, but nothing about this situation was okay.

He had time traveled.

He was alone. He had freaking time traveled. That was so cool. Terrible. But also unbelievably _cool_.

"Dramatic entrance, buddy" The red haired boy announced, after giving a low whistle.

"Cool trick with the ceiling, that your thing then?" Peter opened his mouth to reply, and jumped when the girl interrupted.

"No! No, we're not doing that. None of us are telling what we can do until everyone is here. Charles said there are three more coming, it needs to be a big group reveal" She said she was reminding the other boys, and the red head rolled his eyes but didn't say anymore. Peter sat rigid as she spun back to him. "I don't know how much Charles told you, but I want us all to have a big bonding when the others get here. Oh! I'm Raven by the way, Charles' sister, I don't know if he introduced us or not"

She tapped her temple and Peter's lips fell open in a small 'oh'.

They were all enhanced.

He'd found himself in a group of super enhanced people, and they weren't the Avengers. Weird.

The nerd in him was chanting over how cool this was, but the Avenger in him was hissing warily that this didn't mean he could trust any of them. Although, being left alone with three others more his age was putting him more at ease than the armed guards outside. It was hard to remain on edge surrounded by gentle faces and happy colours.

"Uh, no. No. I'm Peter"

Raven snorted.

"Yeah, Charles said. Nice to meet you; this is Hank" She gestured to the other side of Peter, to the tallest boy, and he gave Peter a quick nod. "And-"

"I'm Sean"

Cool.

Cool. Right.

Awesome.

Peter let out a giddy sound, and blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

The moment Peter's eyes rolled and his body tipped forward, Sean vaulted out of his chair to try and catch the kid before he face planted the floor but before he could Raven and Hank grabbed onto Peter's shoulders on both sides.  
  
Instead of any heroic rescue, Sean ended up with his palm to Peter's forehead.  
  
"Uh, what do we do?" He asked, only half panicking.  
  
Raven looked as freaked as he did at Peter's unexpected faint and with only a few glances between all three, Hank seemed to realize he was going to have to take charge. Not that he looked at all happy about it. The tallest made a few hurried, thoughtful sounds, before eventually standing up with his lips pursed in determination.  
  
"Step back" He instructed, not as forcefully as he wanted. In one easy move Hank scooped Peter up, wincing when the younger's head flopped over his arm jarringly and carried him over to the other couch nearest the wall. "Agent MacTaggert said they'd be right back, didn't they? That was three minutes ago. How long is right back?"  
  
Sean combed his fingers through his hair, leaning over his chair side to peer down at Peter, whom Hank was nervously rearranging into a more comfortable seeming position. "I got no clue man, maybe we could go find someone?"  
  
"We got told not to leave" Raven reminded them, even as she stared over at the door, deliberating walking through it and into the unknown. Part of her wanted to march right out, but the other, raised to look to Charles for permission for everything, kept her rooted on the spot.  
  
Hank pressed his fingers to Peter's throat, and his eyes widened. "Oh _no_.."  
  
He only whispered, but the others heard and their reactions were instant. Sean's head snapped around hard enough to hurt, and Raven almost tripped as she darted back to drop by his side, her hands landing firmly on Peter's chest.  
  
"What?" Both squeaked simultaneously. Raven shot Sean a look, before continuing. "Hank, what do you mean 'oh no'?"  
  
Instead of replying, the bespectacled man held up one finger for silence. Wide eyes staring aimlessly at the wall as he waited for something. Anything.  
  
Then all of a sudden his body went lax and a relieved breath came out in a loud rush.  
  
"Oh thank god, oh my, he's alive. His heart beat is significantly slower than average, that will definitely be something to take note of and monitor in more depth later" Hank muttered, smiling to himself as he waited for the neat pulse. "He appears to have a mutation that radically impacts his physiology it seems, much like myself and you too, Raven, I can't wait to see how they'll compare?"  
  
He trailed off, zeroing in on the twin glares being burned into him.  
  
"Dude" Sean hissed. "Thank god he's alive? You thought he was dead!?"  
  
Raven hauled herself up, turning away with her hands in her hair. "Wow, Hank, you don't just move on from that so... so... Uh. Oh my god. You thought he was dead. He could have died. He almost died. You thought he was dead for a second there didn't you? Oh my god"  
  
Hank squirmed and opened his mouth to reply, but as he did so Charles, Erik and Moira returned.  
  
"Relax everyone, we just had a little chat and everything's been sor..." Charles' serene smile wiped away at the sight that met him. Peter unconscious. Raven pacing. Hank reading Peter's pulse. Sean beetroot in the face. He cast a look to Erik, who looked just as bemused, and Moira who looked fit to burst. "S-Sorted"  
  
Sean straightened up. "He's not dead!"  
  
Moira's jaw dropped, her hands finding her hips, and Raven lunged over to smack Sean on the shoulder hard enough that the young man gave a loud cry.  
  
"What?" Sean squawked at her. "He's not!"

* * *

  
Peter's eyes snapped open and his body moved before his mind did as it responded to the sharp rush of his spider sense; snapping up from lying on his front to crouched on the couch, poised and tense. His hands reached out and caught something hard before it hit him and a split second later a bright voice burst out laughing.  
  
"Oh my god!" Raven crooned, clapping at the show. "What a way to wake up sleepy head"  
  
Startled and confused, Peter looked around the room and noticed two new people he didn't know. Everyone but Raven were frozen with their hands up, as if cringing from an oncoming disaster and hadn't let processed that said disaster had been averted. One, a tall, dark skinned man was closest to him, and was reaching out in a hopeless attempt to catch the vase that had been about to drop onto Peter's sleeping form. A vase now safely encased in Peter's hands.  
  
Peter and the man blinked at each other.  
  
Following in her stead, Sean started laughing next and gave a small cheer for Peter. The new man in front of Peter relaxed, giving Peter an apologetic look.  
  
"Sorry for waking you, man. We were just messing around. That's a neat thing you've got there" He complimented, nodding to the vase in Peter's hands. "I'm Armando, but you can call me Darwin"  
  
_Darwin. Okay._ Peter's mind mumbled as it caught up on all the details.  
  
Peter put the vase back down on the shelf, and noted that he had been moved at some point from the first couch across the room to the furthest couch by the wall. Once the vase was back he dismounted from the couch, and gave Darwin a cautious smile.  
  
"I'm Peter"  
  
He hummed. "Aye, Charles told us. We also got told not to wake you"  
  
Darwin pivoted on his hips, arching to shoot the others in the room a disapproving look but his half-smile spoiled the attempt to be stern. Sean, Raven and Hank had the grace to look abashed, but the new girl snorted behind a manicured hand.  
  
Sean waved. "I didn't even draw on you, man! They wouldn't let me"  
  
That made the girl snort again in contrast to Darwin, Hank and Raven, who looked disapproving.  
  
"What were you going to draw?" Peter asked, breaking a short silence that followed, and was relieved to find the air lightened at his question. It seemed they'd been waiting to see what his attitude was. Peter hoped he'd found an even middle ground, the same as he had back with the Avengers.  
  
"Nothing!" Raven pointedly interrupted, giving Sean a look that had the red head grinning like a child. "Anyway, no more catch. That one was too close: how about drinks instead? Everyone just sit while we wait for the last person"  
  
Catch? Peter looked around, and noticed for the first time a green, small ball about the size of his fist on the ground: rolled along until it hit the corner and the obvious culprit of the vase toppling onto him.  
  
Darwin flopped down on the couch, patting the seat beside him with a warm smile. Peter considered it, gnawing on his lip, and after a few seconds of twitching and assessing, he figured there was no harm in it; when he sat, his back was ramrod straight and his hands fidgeted between his knees. No sooner had he done so the new girl joined him, and as she approached her smile was sultry, the type of smile Peter had never been on the receiving end of before, and a flush crept over his cheeks: much to her amusement.  
  
"Aw baby, you're too young" She whispered to him, quiet enough that only Darwin heard her. Her hand on his shoulder was light and despite her words she leaned in, obviously milking his embarrassment. Darwin flicked her hand off with a chuckle.  
  
Peter forced out a huffing laugh of his own and focused on the bottle of cola Raven had put in front of him instead, thanking her politely.  
  
"Thank you" The new girl nodded to Raven, accepting her drink with a raised eyebrow. "You sure we can't tell anyone what magic we got? It's getting boring waiting around"  
  
Raven shook her head. "No, we can't, but relax. Charles just pulled up with the final guy"  
  
Peter felt a faint echo of something in his mind, his spider sense crawling against an outside force. Not a threat, not really, but something unsettling nonetheless. It drowned out Raven's words, and Angel's groan pulled him back.  
  
Angel shared an empathetic with Raven. "Another guy? Ugh, I was hoping for a lady to hold the fort with us"  
  
Sean nodded dramatically. "Oh me too"  
  
Raven humphed, smacking him again as she passed. "Only because your awful flirting hasn't worked on me or Angel. If the last person was a girl too, I'm sure she'd have had the brains to ignore you too"  
  
Darwin and Peter, unable to help themselves, let out sympathetic hisses and Hank hid a smile in his hand. Subtly Peter's head tilted towards the sound of footsteps outside- too far away and quiet for anyone else- and facing Hank he could see the other do so too, catching Peter's interest. A smile twitched on his lips. He had an inkling on what Hank's enhancements were going to involve.  
  
"Charles is almost here" Peter said to the open room, cutting off Sean's retort. "He has someone else with him"  
  
It wasn't Moira and it wasn't Erik. From what he could remember of how they both walked, the steps were too loud and heavy to be either of them. Angel hummed and swatted his thigh.  
  
"Oh look at you" A chuckle passed her glossed lips, echoed by Raven.  
  
To Peter's surprise, Hank said nothing, just stared at Peter thoughtfully: perhaps coming to the same conclusion Peter had seconds before.  
  
Raven sat on the arm rest of Sean's chair, and the five watched the door eagerly. Awaiting Peter's prediction.  
  
Sure enough two figures appeared at the end of the hall way, barely visible through the thin windows on the door. Darwin rose his eyebrows at Peter, clearly impressed, and Peter held back the urge to beam at him. Even though he wasn't a kid anymore, contrary to what Stark seemed to think, getting approval and admiration from someone older still made Peter's heart inflate some. Puppy dog syndrome, Stark had called in on several occasions, right before a more emboldened Spider-Man would snap back something that had the other Avengers sniggering.  
  
Charles was always smiling, Peter decided. He'd never seen a different expression on him yet. His smile was visible first off, and as he pushed through the doors his grin somehow got wider at the sight of the group all lined up waiting for him.  
  
"Ah, you were expecting us" Charles announced, pleased. He looked from Hank to Peter, and back again to decide who'd been the one to give him away, and nodded to Peter. "Good, excellent. Well, everyone, I'd like you to meet Alex"  
  
He dropped a hand gently onto the shoulder of the stranger with him. A guy about Peter's age, perhaps older, who's soft features contrasted the hard expression they carried and the tense set of his body. He looked like he wanted to bolt, and Peter understood the notion. The group, Charles and the other kids, were despite being well meaning were... certainly _intense_.  
  
"Alex, welcome to the G-Men"  
  
A long pause stretched out. Sean and Raven were grinning like mad at Alex, Angel looked at Alex like she wanted to chew him up- when not directed at him, Peter managed to appreciate how funny that was- and Darwin had a wonderful, blissful steady air about him with one hand on Peter's shoulder and the other laid leisurely over his arm rest. The only one not pinning Alex with their gaze was Peter, who sat with his hands between his knees between Angel and Darwin, a half smile on his face as he looked along the line of expectant enhanced.  
  
The blond boy- Alex, Peter affirmed in his head- narrowed his eyes at them, then looked at Charles. Then back again. His mouth worked like he was reconsidering something over and over.

Then finally he spoke.  
  
"No offense, but that's a crappy name"  
  
Sean cracked up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Charles, Charles, Charles, one day you'll think of a great name that will really stick. 
> 
> I still can't believe the prerequisite of the X-Men was called the G-Men, that sounds so wrong.
> 
> Anyway, everyone has been introduced to the story! I'm really surprised by how popular this story already is, I wasn't expecting people to pay much attention since XMFC is older now and with the new films coming out butchering what came before to all new levels per film, but I'm so so grateful people are!! I'm excited for this and I'm glad you guys are too x
> 
> Alex / Peter is going to be a slow burner, considering the time era Alex grew up in (plus homosexuality is still illegal in the year XMFC is set) so bare that in mind loves. There's going to be a lot of their comic book interactions and history interwoven and expanded, and that's going to be a bit of a foundation for how they'll be with each other; because I've always found their contrast hilarious. Expect some fun times.


	3. Chapter 3

All around him, Peter could hear the steady, deep breathes of three strangers in the row of beds beyond his own.  
  
He'd chosen the same one he had woken up in hours before, and Sean had cheerfully dumped himself down on the next bed along; lying back with arms behind his head and ankles crossed, and announcing to the others that he'd always wanted a couple of buddies to bunk with.  
  
Alex had contradicted that, saying the beds weren't bunks and they weren't buddies, then proceeded to take the bed furthest from any of them right by the window. Despite this brutal shut down, Sean seemed set on becoming Alex's best friend: ignoring the looks Peter and Darwin both sent the red head that maybe, just maybe he might want to lay off the guy at first.  
  
"Just you two wait, before long me and that guy are going to be like this" Sean crossed his fingers, leveling Peter and Darwin with such a look of determination that Darwin's soft laugh was found in Peter too. Usually Peter would have settled by now, tried to find his feet more, but the ground shifting knowledge that he'd time traveled still rattled in his brain refusing to let him rest.  
  
Darwin patted Sean's shoulder, and sat down on the bed directly on from Sean. It made Alex look deliberately cast out, the three of them at one end and him alone at the other, but it was what the blond wanted. Peter was almost tempted to make a recluse of himself at one point, when Sean's babbling went on for so long, talking about stuff that was new and exciting to him- someone who came from the sixties- but to Peter was layers upon layers of old history book information that did nothing for his sense of impending doom and unease. The only adult in the room had seemed to sense not one, but now two, of the boys he was rooming with was getting overtired and jittery, and hushed Sean.  
  
To Peter's surprise, Sean had shut straight up and went to bed. Not even with an air of sulking. He just... did it. And from the way Alex peeked over, and Darwin's eyebrows rose, he wasn't alone in his surprise.  
  
Three hours later, going by the ticking clock on the wall, and the others were fast asleep and Peter wide awake. Not just wide awake, but existential crisis level of too damn awake.  
  
There was a crack in the ceiling that he stared at, sharp eyes taking in every detail and completely unperturbed by the dark setting, to try and fight off the feeling that Thanos was looming. His last memory of the world he knew was of shock, terror, violence and the fleeting through of 'oh, I'm going to die now' and it replayed in his mind every time Peter tried to sleep. The sound of Wanda and Scott screaming, too desperate to even form words as they watched what was happening, was the most prominent feature of the unwelcome flash backs; rising goosebumps, churning his stomach and leaving him panting to curb of the tell tale hitches of a panic attack.  
  
Going from weeks of fear and high alert, to suddenly existing in an environment almost hauntingly serene was throwing Peter's paranoia around like a car crash.  
  
"Aw man" Peter whispered to himself, hauling up into a seated position. He dropped his face into his shaking hands, rubbing away the sweat, and after a few deep breaths he looked to his left. Even with all the storm going on in him, the sight of the others sleeping peacefully brought a small smile to his face.  
  
Sean was laid on his front splayed like a star, face turned towards Peter, with an arm hanging off the side. The thin limbs were so long that Sean's wrist rested on the floor, at an angle that his palm was facing the ceiling. A bed on from him Darwin was almost exactly the same, splayed like a star, only he lay on his back with his face away from Peter. Sean's heartbeat fluttered in his sleep, light and frequent like a bird, a quick tenor over Darwin's steady, controlled bass beat. Their beating wove together like Clint and Natasha's would when they worked in sync on the battlefield, or Bruce and Tony as they leaned over a lab table to do their 'Science Bros' thing. The third heart beat, which had been as steady as Darwin's, was quickening.  
  
Peter snapped out of the bed, crouched on the mattress and ready, when his spider sense suddenly spiked and there was a red-pink flash down at the furthest end of the room. It was brief, so bright it lit up the whole room like a flash of lightning, and over so quickly Peter was left blinking in shock: wondering if it had happened at all.  
  
He remained still, staring at the end bed as the blanket covered lump on it moved.  
  
A few seconds ticked by and Peter left his bed, silently padding down the long room to the final bed.  
  
As he came closer he could see Alex sat up, gripping his hands together tightly and scowling with a distinctive shine to his eyes that reminded Peter of Aunt May in the months after Ben passed. Almost tears. Almost letting it out. Almost feeling strong enough not to need to. Over his head he had his blanket, draped him over like E.T under the moon light coming in from the huge window.  
  
"You okay, Alex?" Peter asked, keeping his voice low. The attempt at not startling Alex failed, and the blond jerked up and had it been any other situation Peter would have found the blanket half covering Alex's eyes, making him tilt his head back to stare at Peter, comical; but all he could focus on was the sparks of red light flashing under the hem of the blanket, sealed in the slither of Alex's eyes that Peter could see.  
  
A beat.  
  
Alex angrily tossed his head, dislodging the blanket, and his eyes were a storm. They crackled like Thor's would as he summoned his lightning, but the tone was a warm red. The glow of a fire, a hue, rather than the onslaught of raw, crackling power that demanded attention.  
  
Peter recalled back in the court yard, the spin of the boy's body as violent red slashes cut across the arena, and scolded himself for the initial thought. Even though they seemed kind, warm and safe now, he'd seen with his own eyes the damage the full extent of what his new team mate could do. There had been more than just teasing as a reason Hank hadn't wanted to share a room with the young man after all. For a split second Peter wondered if he'd made the wrong call announcing he'd share with Alex, hastily trying to smooth over a visible tension developing when Alex looked so resigned to Hank's fear, but shoved it aside.  
  
Bruce, and Wanda, had taught him a great deal about people with powers they couldn't completely control. Powers that caused more harm than they ever wished to cause.  
  
Those eyes closed and when they opened again, they were plain and dark in the night time light.  
  
"Fucking scared me" Alex begrudgingly admitted, glaring at Peter. "What're you doing up?"  
  
Peter noted Alex hadn't answered his question, but didn't comment.  
  
The other boy's face shifted when Peter didn't immediately answer. "I didn't... I didn't wake you did I?"  
  
"Oh, no, no, I was already awake" Peter rushed out, flapping a hand to placate the familiar look of self-loathing that shrouded Alex's expression. He'd seen it too often on Tony's face, especially on the first few nights since Peter had moved into the Avengers up state base.  
  
An awkward pause dropped over them, filled with Sean and Darwin's calm breathing.  
  
"I ugh, slept a lot during the day so I can't now" Peter admitted, only a half truth. Alex frowned. "Oh you weren't there. Yeah I, um, I fainted. Twice actually, I fainted. Yeah"  
He trailed off when Alex's mouth twitched in something close to a smile.  
  
"Do that often?" The other grunted, rubbing his hands together and then flexing them. Once. Twice. Three times. It was no trick of the light that Alex's hands sparked with red.  
Peter shrugged, dropping down on the squeaky bed beside Alex's. The sound was so loud and sudden that both snapped to look at the sleeping duo, relaxing only when it became clear they were both undisturbed. He breathed out in a rush. "Only when I don't eat. Which..."  
  
Alex's face flickered with a range of emotions, mostly amusement, as he watched the brown haired boy try to remember the last time he ate prior to the CIA dinner that had been slopped in front of the group. It had been ahead of the battle, back when Peter and the others thought they still had some time to prepare, mere hours before Thanos brought the war down on their heads in a hurricane and caught them off guard.  
  
"Huh" Peter hummed. He jabbed a finger at Alex's disapproving expression. "Hey I didn't see you eating much earlier, don't look at me like that"  
  
Alex scoffed. "I don't get hungry. I'm fine, you're not"  
  
"What? Really?" Peter brightened up, briefly forgetting to whisper. "You never get hungry? Is that a real thing or just something you... you know... _tell_ people?"  
  
Like he used to when he didn't want Aunt May to worry about him on their tight budget. Back before Tony won the battle with them to fund their monthly food charges.  
  
Before Alex could reply, Peter suddenly ducked to the right and a blink of an eye later a shoe launched past his head and hit the wall. Both looked around to see Sean squinting at them through the darkness, half grinning, half scowling, and it didn't even falter at the angry red spark of Alex's eyes. If anything, Sean seemed to be encouraged by the dangerous, knee jerk reaction.  
  
"Not bunk buddies, huh? Tsh, I told you, Summers, we're gonna be best buds. I'm always right" Sean slurred, untangling himself. And failing. He settled for taking his blankets with him. On his way he poked Darwin in the face, snapping the elder awake instantly. "Come on bro, we're having a slumber party down at Alex's place. Bring snacks"  
  
Peter heard Alex swear under his breath, clearly regretting engaging Peter in conversation now, and Darwin rolled his eyes at Sean even as he got up and scooped up his own blankets. Sean tapped a knuckle to Peter's arm, signalling for him to shuffle up, and Peter couldn't help the huffing laugh that escaped him when the happy-go-lucky red head snuggled up next to him and rested his head on the brunette's shoulder.  
  
"Come on then, Lucy. Spill. What did Darwin and I miss? Also, I forgot my nail polish, sorry guys"  
  
Darwin sat on the end of Alex's bed, more respectful of space than Sean. He wiggled his fingers at the boys, grinning and looking horribly alert despite only just being woken. "Shame, I'd love some purple glossy nails right now"  
  
Sean looked at Peter, and then Alex, and sighed. "Eh, we can raid the girls room later- Hey! Peter can climb on walls, he could totally sneak in now and steal some"  
  
Alex tossed Sean's shoe back at him, and for the first time since arriving in the past, Peter began to relax.

* * *

  
Peter regretted everything.  
  
Well. Not everything. He didn't regret bonding with Darwin, Sean and Alex overnight, but he did regret not trying to sleep and perhaps getting at least a few winks. Instead he had ended up talking all night and the only one who got any sleep was Sean, who dozed off on Peter's shoulder just as the sky started to lighten from pitch black to deep blue.  
What made it worse was that Darwin and Alex looked great. Despite neither of them dropping off.  
  
_"I adapt"_  
  
_"I don't sleep"_  
  
Were their respective excuses.  
  
Peter hated them so much and made a point of glaring their perfect ways over breakfast in the common room, drinking directly from the coffee jug.  
"Ew, Peter stop that" Raven complained, also looking unfairly put together. Shapeshifter was likely her reason. It must have been awesome to just shapeshift in seconds into someone who looked fresher and ready to go. From the way she yanked it off him and immediately poured herself some coffee, not caring about backwash or to make a new batch, told Peter that although she looked great... she very clearly was detesting the morning as much as he was. He wondered if she was still thinking about her brother's disappointment the night before.  
  
Angel covered her mug when Raven went to pour her a drink. "No, doll. Not with spider spit in it"  
  
Sean snuffled into his cereal, and Hank quirked his head at her. He looked the worst out of them all, in spite of the suit and combed hair, it was glaringly obvious Hank was not a frequent sound sleeper.  
  
"Spider spit? Angel, you have acidic insect saliva-"  
  
"Ewww" Sean and Raven chorused, making Darwin throw his head back with a laugh and Alex smile into his glass of water. Raven took a second look at her drink, considering Angel's words, but then took a gulp with nothing more than a half-hearted shrug.  
  
Peter stole the jug back off her, and carried on drinking from it. Breakfast fell quiet then, with everyone falling into the awkwardness that permeated a space filled with strangers who knew only the barest about each other. Even though they'd had a great impromptu party and showed off their powers, they still didn't know each other.  
  
Sean cleared his throat and Peter swore he heard Alex whisper, here we go, under his breath. Hank spied a look at him, so Peter figured that hadn't been his imagination.  
  
"So you two are both bugs and Hank is like... an ape? I guess, with the cool feet" Hank blinked in surprise at Sean's casual words. "I'm pretty much a bat, only I can see-" Sean flicked his spoon to interrupt whatever correct Hank, and Peter, went to make. "Darwin is the whole road of life form evolution, and Raven's a blue reptile of some kind"  
Raven and Angel exchanged looks.  
  
Sean jabbed his thumb at Alex, splashing milk across the table between them. "The hell are you?"  
  
"Annoyed" Alex shot back, quick as a flash, but not before Darwin threw in his own suggestion.  
  
"A glow worm"  
  
Hank jumped in. "Electrophorus electricus! An... an electric eel"  
  
Alex's "No, I'm annoyed" was drowned out by the others launching in, throwing their own suggestions in. Peter chewed down on his cereal, thinking of his own suggestion as more and more ideas were bounced around. The blond in question ducked his head, hiding the faint glow- and actual glow, Peter noted, not a metaphor for a blush, but real pale red illumination- radiating off his skin and the barely contained minute smile pulling at his lips, contradicting his earlier claim, and Peter dumped the coffee jug down on the breakfast table with a crack.  
  
"I got it" Peter beamed. "A firefly"  
  
Angel swatted her hand on Alex's shoulder. "Hey, that can be your codename"  
  
The group made approving sounds, and Alex wrinkled his nose.  
  
"A firefly is a tiny bug that does nothing. What I do just causes a lot of havoc"  
  
Darwin held up a finger. "Yes, but you could join Angel and Pete's bug club"  
  
"Oh there's a club now?" Angel interjected, grinning and offering a high five to Peter, who eagerly leaned over to return it. As Raven, Darwin and Peter tested out the codename to a frustrated looking Alex, Sean plucked a pen from Hank's front pocket.  
  
With his tongue between his lips and a frown on his face, Sean began doodling on a napkin and Hank leaned over his shoulder to see.  
  
"What are you drawing?"  
  
Sean tilted to show him. "Alex. You weren't there" It sounded almost like an accusation. "But last night his eyes did this thing, like a bunch of circles"  
  
Hank blinked down at it. It was a stick man, whom he guessed was meant to be Alex, surrounded by circular patterns, and the bold lettering above him as a speech bubble.  
  
"Havoc is spelled with a 'c', not a 'k'" Hank advised, catching the attention of the whole room.  
  
The red haired boy sniffed, and shot Hank a rueful look. "It looks cooler with a 'k'"  
  
I AM HAVOK.  
  
Alex groaned and slumped over, glowering at the napkin. After a beat he huffed. "Havok. I like it. S'better than fucking _Firefly_ "  
  
"Great" Raven chipped, snatching toast from Darwin's plate, who in turn stole a handful of grapes from her's. "Now all we need to think of is Hank and Peter's"  
  
Peter shook his head. "No, guys I told you, I'm Spider-Man"  
  
He tried not to be offended when, yet again, the others all grimaced and let off a chorus of disgusted groans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bit of a filler chapter, sorry about that, but I wanted to allow Peter time to get his bearings, and also explore a bit more of the facility life before Shaw invaded it because they had to have been there for a quite a while since Charles, Erik and Moira jetted off to Russia and back again. I'd estimate the recruits spent at least a week alone, if not two, at the facility while the main three were gone: the film speeds a lot up and jumps around in time.
> 
> Next chapter the main plot will start to be introduced and we'll see more of Charles. Charles was meant to be in this chapter, Peter was meant to go wandering and come across him, and they'd have a heart to heart, but then Peter and Alex ended up talking instead and so on, I prefer this scenario tbh: what about you guys?


	4. Chapter 4

After breakfast, they were all called down into a large room the size of a hanger bay: a high arching ceiling and floors polished so smooth their steps squeaked and whistled over the linoleum. Along the walls, by the doors and along the balcony above armed agents were dotted around, most looking ahead dutifully, but as many were watching the group walk through the hanger.  
  
The colours and style of everything thus far had been different enough, so glaringly different, that Peter had been able to brush off any washes of homesickness and panic. But this room, this hanger, was eerily similar to the architecture of the upside facility and all it was missing were ornamental potted plants and black globes attached to the ceiling were the cameras hid. It was so similar that Peter left a lurch in his chest and for a split second when he looked over at Charles and Erik, stood side by side in the centre of the hanger, he almost saw the Captain and Mr. Stark.  
  
Unlike Mr. Stark, Erik's expression was a more brutal type of closed off, and Charles' posture was too soft, too casual to be Captain America. He had his hands in his pockets, contrasting Erik's crossed arms, and an expression as open and friendly as ever.  
  
It changed only minutely when he sensed Peter's wave of unpleasant nostalgia. His hands came out from his pockets and clasped together in from of him.  
  
"Good morning everyone! I know many of you are expecting me to be angry, but I assure you neither myself nor Erik here are" He didn't mention anything about the agent lady, Peter was fairly sure she was still livid. As for Erik, his stony expression refuted Charles' claims. "I understand that yesterday was an exciting day with a lot happening, and last night was a way for you to let off steam. As for today, let's start afresh: we've called you here because although you all have familiarised yourselves with the abilities of one another-"  
  
Peter smiled minutely, when Charles inclined his head at the comment. The damage they had caused was something the older man disapproved of: while simultaneously thinking it was the greatest thing to ever happen in his life. At least, that was the vibe Peter got from the tiny smirk Charles quickly masked from Erik's blank gaze.  
  
"- Erik and I on the otherhand only saw the aftermath. We would like you all to be yourselves. Show us what you can do, and we will show you what we can do. We need to form a bond, all of us. In the world we are entering it is vital we trust and respect one another, and know where each other stands"  
  
Charles exchanged a look with Erik, who nodded to him once. That struck another nerve within Peter, reminding him vividly of his two mentors in the months after their reconcile.  
  
Erik decided it was time to speak up. To Peter's surprise, the man grinned at them, letting the first emotion he'd ever seen from the man shine through for a brief second: grey eyes tracing over the line of recruits like he was assessing them. "Now, who wants to go first?"  
  
Silence fell over the group.  
  
Peter opened his mouth to volunteer, after all he had far more experience than the others in the use of his powers, but before he could Darwin waved a hand and stepped forward.  
  
"I, uh, I'm not sure how I can show you in here" Darwin gestured around. "But I'll go first"  
  
From the corner of his eye, Peter saw the others relax. Darwin had very quickly become like the older brother of them all. He put them at ease and everyone seemed glad not to have to go first.  
  
Charles looked around with his whole body, mimicking Darwin, and tried to find something that could work. "Would... Ah, would one of these crates work?"  
  
He pointed, and all eyes turned to a half-wall of storage crates stacked up on a board with ropes strapped over them, hooks threaded through for transportation likely. None of the younger recruits were going to be surprised by whatever Darwin did, his abilities had been more or less covered by his fish tank dunk and insisting Alex, Sean and Peter beat him with chairs.  
  
"Yeah, yeah they'll work" Darwin nodded, rubbing his hands as if preparing himself.  
  
Charles looked to Hank and Peter. "Would you two mind assisting?"  
  
The boys in question darted looks at each other, Hank's jaw hanging, and Peter nodded: pleased when Hank followed his lead. Peter glanced over to see Angel and Raven giving each other looks, and Sean whispering something to Alex that made the blond reluctantly huff a laugh.  
  
As Peter passed, Darwin had taken up position lying on his back on the ground, hands behind his head like he was sunbathing. He winked at Peter, making the boy laugh, and angled so he could see what the other two would be doing.  
  
Hank moved to one end of the crates, and Peter mirrored him on the other end, and accidentally synchronized they flexed their fingers.  
  
"... believe they're strong enough to lift all that?" Peter caught the end of Erik's murmured question in Charles' ear. Charles hummed back, and Peter gave Hank a nod.  
  
They both dipped, threaded their fingers underneath the slats and lifted. Or rather, Peter lifted with confidence quicker than Hank could keep up, and the impressed 'woahs' that breezed over their onlookers bubbled into giggles as they stumbled and tittered unevenly. Peter was sure he could have lifted it alone, but the angle and size was better suited for two lifting, and Hank gave Peter an awkward half-smile as he peeked around the crates, and Peter took that as a cue to start moving towards Darwin.  
  
Although shorter, Peter was stronger, and he was able to lift his end enough to level out with Hank's higher one: his end of the crate resting more at his sternum, while Hank rested at his hips. Accommodating to Hank's pace made the shuffle over to Darwin awkward, and Peter could hear Sean narrating with appropriate ohs and ahs as they moved, earning himself sniggers from the girls and an eye roll from Alex.  
  
Just for the fun of it, Peter pretended to trip over Darwin and the man on the floor barked out a laugh, grabbing his ankle.  
  
"Alright, alright" Charles chided lightly, albeit while smiling too.  
  
Erik had an indecipherable look on his face. "How much does that weigh?"  
  
"Approximately? Each crate weighs on average half a ton with the equipment in them, so the boys together are lifting in the region of twenty tons" Charles answered, circling Hank and Peter as they stood at Darwin's head and feet respectively. Hank's cheeks flushed at Raven's loud whistle.  
  
Peter peeked and from his angle he could see Alex's eyebrows raised and Sean's mouth hanging. He preened a little.  
  
"Right, Armando are you ready?" Charles checked.  
  
Darwin waved his hands. "Come on, hit me with it"  
  
Across the crates, Peter heard Hank mumble to himself. "I can't believe we're going to drop twenty tons on a man..." before they let go on Charles' count of three.  
Unable to help it, everyone except for Peter and Erik yelped when the crate dropped, and clapped loudly against the floor. Underneath was a brief flash, barely noticeable even for Peter, and then nothing.  
  
The crate was flat on the floor. No tilt from the shape of Darwin. No lift from where Darwin had caught it as expected. A few bated seconds passed.  
Charles exchanged looks with Erik, who unhelpfully just shrugged.  
  
"Armando?"  
  
Laughter cracked out over the room, and all bodies spun to look up at the balcony, where a bemused Darwin stood between two evenly distanced guards with his arms out to them in a 'ta da' pose.  
  
"Adapt to survive baby!"  
  
Sean gaped up at him. "You can teleport?"  
  
Peter couldn't figure it out himself, and by the looks of it neither could anyone else.  
  
Darwin shrugged, and then to the shock of them all jumped over the rails and plummeted down to the ground. He landed, on legs that sponged the impact disturbingly, and with a shake of his body the man walked back over to the main group.  
  
"It's happened before. I never know what's gonna happen until it does, sometimes I get super strong and catch stuff" Darwin tapped one of the crates. "Sometimes I just... boom, gone. Appear somewhere else"  
  
Even Erik looked deeply impressed, his mind running through the thousands of possibilities having Darwin as an ally opened up and the range of growth within them. Someone like Darwin would be invaluable and there was really no telling where the limits were, if any existed. It also had the added benefit of being entirely defensive, sure Darwin could perhaps apply it aggressively, but fundamentally his abilities were about protection, and as he often stated: survival.  
  
Raven reached out and pressed her fist to his shoulder playfully. "You were holding out on us last night. None of ours look as cool now. I mean mine was pretty much covered, everyone here knows what I can do, you've all seen it a few times"  
  
Charles gave her a stern look and the girl seemed to pale.  
  
"I'm not... I'm not ready"  
  
Sean grabbed Peter's shoulder, testing out the muscles, and looked somewhere between impressed and pissed off.  
  
"Raven-" Charles started, and it looked like an argument was about to unleash.  
  
Peter shouldered Sean off and side stepped closer to the siblings. "Um, I can demonstrate now?"  
  
Erik answered, making the other jump. "Please do"  
  
The _quickly_ went unsaid.  
  
Peter nodded hurriedly, and jogged a short distance from the others. From there he could see Angel close to Raven, a concerned look on her face that the older woman shook her head at, and Charles looking for once unhappy. He seemed frustrated with something and Peter wished he knew what. It made him tense when people around him were frustrated by something he knew nothing about.  
  
It reminded him of how in the dark he'd been back during the Sokovia Accords.  
  
Part of him wondered why this was necessary as everyone in the room had already seen him do his tricks: wall walking, heavy lifting, danger sensing, jumping... all of it seemed to already have been covered. Then a bulb clicked on in Peter's head.  
  
"Um, Charles could some of the CIA guys come over for a minute? Maybe, I don't know, four or five?" Don't be cocky, Parker. Erik's head tilted and Charles seemed surprised by the request, but didn't delve into Peter's mind to find out the answer as his expression of confusion never cleared. He was grateful for that.  
Angel hummed. "Getting in the big guns. Do we all get to use props or...?"  
  
Raven chuckled and Peter gave a bashful smile, ignoring her, as he waved over some of the armed men dotted around the room. With obvious reluctance five left their posts and came forward.  
  
"Okay" Peter said as they arrived, his eyes looking them up and down. "I'll go easy on you guys-"  
  
Alex and Sean snorted, chatter rising around Peter's companions at the odd statement. Erik gave Charles a look with eyebrows raised higher than anyone knew he was capable of.  
  
"- I need you to attack me. You know just start fighting me" The boy finished, head bobbing to look at each of them in turn. None of them looked convinced. "Honestly, it sounds totally weird I know but trust me. Any of you just throw a punch or something"  
  
Then, to everyone's continued surprise, Peter turned his back to the men.  
  
A long stretch of time passed and Peter winced, wondering if he was going to have to lay on the convincing thicker or give up with beetroot cheeks, when suddenly his spider's sense flashed. His body moved as swift as ever, ducking instinctively to the right as the butt of a gun flew right where he was just standing, and Peter let his training from Romanoff kick in.  
  
Instead of letting the first man draw his gun back into position Peter grabbed the end of it and hauled both the weapon and the man over his shoulder; flipping and tossing the six foot man across the small fighting ring the mutants in the room had formed around them. A split second later, Peter caught a fist swinging for him and leaned into it, using the second man as a balance to lift up and jump in an arch with his foot smacking straight into a third man's face, and as with the first, Peter flipped the second man over his shoulder and onto the ground. The fight drifted off into a blur, a rush Peter knew well, and he bit back the quips that rose to his lips. This was his familiarity, this was his safety net, and the only thing missing was his face disguised by his well loved suit.  
  
Within a minute all five men were down. Peter stood between them, grinning at his friends stunned faces.  
  
Then his spider sense went off again.  
  
Out of habit Peter pressed his fingers down on his wrist for a web shooter, and between the split second of doing so and remembering he didn't have his shooters here, to his shock and morbid horror the skin of his wrist rippled, tickled and shifted and something shot out from under his sleeve.  
  
The white goo slapped into an approaching sixth agent and flung him back, sticking him firmly against the hanger wall.  
  
Peter's jaw dropped.  
  
"That's enough!" Charles shouted, hands rising as more agents took steps forward. His and Erik's expressions had reversed. Now Charles looked stormy, and Erik looked delighted, and when the former turned to Peter he subconsciously shrunk back.  
  
The telepath's anger deflated the moment he noticed Peter's body drop from confident to passive, and he let out a long, tired sigh.  
  
"Thank you Peter, that will be all from you today"  
  
Peter looked over at Erik, who pursed his lips in something close to an impressed smile and nodded at him over Charles' shoulder, and then at the others whom all looked at him like Peter was an action figure. No sooner had Peter stepped towards them Sean was on him, shaking him.  
  
"Dude that was fucking awesome, oh dude you were like a ninja or somethin'" The red head's enthusiasm was mirrored in Angel and Alex, who crowded close too. Raven was laughing quietly at Hank's gobsmacked expression, while Darwin's expression mirrored something closer to Charles but not quite.  
  
He looked awed, but also deeply concerned. Peter flushed.  
  
"Yes, thank you Sean, enough now. A remarkable display of violence there" Charles interrupted, tone still edged while his expression was once again schooled. Erik scoffed at him.  
  
"Charles. We called them here to show us what they could do, as you said we as a team need to know what each other are capable of, that includes other skills they might have, whether you like what they are or not" The taller man gave Peter another approving glance. "It would seem not everyone here needs extensive training"  
  
Sky blue eyes shot Erik a glare and in the background, mirth drained out of their friends. Sean seemed to notice something, then Raven, then Hank...  
  
"Sean" Charles called without looking away from Erik. "Might you demonstrate next? Please something less... brutal"  
  
Peter shrunk into himself a little more, slotting himself between Darwin and Alex, and rubbed his thumbs over the insides of his wrists over and over: feeling an unfamiliar bump in the flesh there that hadn't been present before. He felt a warm hand rest on his back as a and darted a look up at Darwin in confusion. The older man looked down with a wary smile, eyes lifted up to scan around them, and Peter angled to see what he- and everyone else- was looking at.  
  
_Oh_.  
  
The CIA agents that were once a looming presence now had their guns cocked higher, fingers on the triggers, and the once Peter beat were returning to their stations with furious faces. He definitely messed up.  
  
His elbow brushed Alex's arm and the other boy stepped back, putting a cool three inch distance between them. Ouch. But then Peter felt Darwin's hand move from his back and reach across, tapping Alex's shoulder and subtly gesturing to the guards.  
  
Alex stepped back closer. Leather jacket pressing into Peter's side. It was clearly uncomfortable for the guy, whom Peter recalled hated being touched, but that seemed overridden by the hostility of their patrons around them: directed at them all, but particularly zeroed in on Peter.  
  
He had _really_ messed up.  
  
Angel, who's dark eyes were boring down an overhead guard with fear and definance in them, snapped to look at Raven when the other woman coddled in close. It struck Peter then that he wasn't the only one sandwiched: Angel had tucked herself between the taller Raven and Hank, and Sean was hovering partly behind both Erik and Charles, not as close, but still clearly wary.  
  
Charles even seemed unsettled by the change in demeanor of their surrounding agents, and Peter's skin itched with the feeling of a lecture coming some time soon. Maybe he'd be called away like when Tony wanted to talk, or simply eaten out in front of everyone like Steve would when Peter had stepped out of line. Or maybe Charles was the Natasha type, who'd catch him the following day to cooly give him a run down on the situation and curtly inform him that she didn't want to see a repeat.  
  
Erik hissed out Charles' name in a warning tone, grey eyes narrowed on the Humans.  
  
"Apologies Sean, I'm afraid time's run away with us" The professor said abruptly, half distracted by the guards. He was lying, again. Sean didn't look remotely put out at this change, he only crowded closer to Charles' side. "Erik and I have a meeting with Agent MacTaggert to attend, so I suggest everyone runs along back to either their rooms or the recreation rooms"  
  
_I'd like you all to stay in pairs, sort a buddy system out between yourselves._ Charles' voice echoed, soft and calm. Deliberately trying not to stir their fears and only half working.  
  
It was a gentler way of saying 'don't go anywhere alone'.  
  
Peter's face was burning.  
  
He'd messed up so, so bad.  
  
On their way out Peter heard a whisper.  
  
"... _fucking freaks_..."  
  
From the way Hank flinched and ducked his head, he hadn't imagined it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note: I LOVE DARWIN. End note.
> 
> this chapter was meant to be longer, but time's ran away with me and I think anymore than this might be cramming too much into one chapter alone. It felt like a pretty natural end to this segment. 
> 
> I'm so glad people are enjoying this! As for people asking about the missing scene of them picking out codenames and having their little party, I left that out as it didn't seem necessary and I want to avoid just doing a direct play by play of the film with Peter shoe horned in, and like I said I want to also explore the scenes and background life in the facility that the film left out. Sorry if the previous chapter seemed like an odd jump.
> 
> Also, shock! Peter's iconic web shooters are organic in his Mutant body. They're so quintessential I wrote that in accidentally, Hank and he were originally meant to collab later on to give Peter his web shooters, but then the situation just called for it and boom. Given Peter's body in this reality is more natural born Mutation than later in life enhancements, it feels like it would make a bit of sense his webs came from him like a spider.
> 
> Someone mentioned his codename and the time problems that would cause. As mentioned in the description, Peter isn't aware of it yet but he's not actually jumped through time only, he's also jumped into another reality. The MCU and XMCU are different realities, so Peter's Spider-Man name wouldn't cause any hiccups down the timeline since as the XMCU universe's Peter is him, right now. I hope that makes sense?
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed it and I can't wait to hear what you thought x x


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm sorry for the lack of updates in so long on here!! I've just started university and it's kicked my ass more than I expected, so a lot of my time has been devoted to getting up to speed and as a result this story got neglected. I'm relieved people are still interested in reading more, and I will try and keep updates as frequent as possible x
> 
> This chapter is REALLY short, so sorry about that, I just wanted to get something out as soon as I could just so people know it's not abandoned. A longer one next time I promise.
> 
> Warning for this chapter: homophobic slurs, discussions about racism, canon era douchebaggery.

As they left the hanger, Alex drifted back off, creating a distance between himself and the others, while everyone else seemed to gather in closer. Peter watched Angel thread arms with Raven, the girls leaning into each other to whisper, and Sean bounced up to stand where Alex once had. Marching up behind them instead of their usual front leading, Erik and Charles wore rarely matching stony faces.  
  
Walking in silence with the others drew Peter's attention to something that had bothered him since he arrived. The quiet. The lack of distant buzzing technology hidden away in the walls, ceilings and even the floors. The absence of cars and horns and even planes flying over: restricted airspace was likely the reason for the last one, but all the others were strangely haunting. He'd grown up in a world filled with life, with every inch of that life making some kind of sound and Peter had come to associate that with safety and the distinctive warmth of home.  
  
But this wasn't home. This was quiet. This was the hollow sound of footfalls down a corridor in 1962, surrounded by people Peter was kidding himself were his friends. He'd known them less than twenty-four hours and as welcoming as they had been, they were strangers. He was still inherently alone.  
It was similar to when Uncle Ben passed. It was like the harrowing, empty side of grief all over again. Only this time Peter wasn't grieving someone else, he was more or less grieving himself. His old life.  
  
And so far, despite assessing everything around him from waking until sleeping, there seemed to be no indication on how he would get home. None of the technology was advanced enough, nor any of the books he'd found lining the walls of Hank's bunker seemed to indicate anyone in this era were close to understanding the concepts Peter was beginning to think were responsible for his jump.  
  
He needed to find a way to contact the closest thing he'd get to Tony. His father, Howard.  
  
Where in the motherhugger he'd start though, Peter had no idea.  
  
Darwin nudged him. "You alright there, Pete? Wasn't your fault you know"  
  
Peter hummed, taking the excuse where it was offered. He smiled bleakly and let Darwin rub his back between his shoulders, mind whirring on ways he could track down Stark senior. When they reached the end of their walk, which seemed longer than it had when they'd been going the other way towards the hanger, Charles touched his arm as he passed, gentle and reassuring, and pushed open the door to their recreation room. Long gone was the bright feeling of the morning when the group had shared breakfast together for the first time.  
  
"As usual, make yourselves at home" Charles reminded them, forcing on a smile. "You all know where the food and drinks are, try to stay in the room if you can and-"  
Erik interrupted. "No one goes anywhere on their own"  
  
"Yes, we get it. Charles already said" Angel huffed, releasing Raven's arm and wrapping her arms around herself.  
  
Peter felt Sean nudge him, and he looked up at the older kid with an encouraging smile and for a moment he caught a glimpse of stoic maturity in the usually jovial guy: pale eyes look in Peter's face, and the brunet suddenly felt analysed. Apparently he wasn't hiding his loss nor his panic very well. As their mentors fell back into each others orbits for another half-whispered discussion the others pretended they couldn't all hear perfectly, Sean clicked his tongue.  
  
"Wanna play some cards with me?" The red head asked him, tone heavy with something. Just past him, Hank sat ram rod on the couch staring at the table, and as Peter slowly nodded his head at Sean's question, Alex came up behind the tallest member; flicking his ear.  
  
Hank flinched and Alex dumped himself down next to the other enhanced, the space for another person between them. The exchange seemed odd- but then Hank's posture subtly shifted. His shoulders dropped and his clenched fists went lax. His eyes lifted to watch Sean digging through the drawers under their coffee table to find the cards he knew were within, along with various board games, and bold as brass Darwin sat himself in the space pointedly left for Hank and Alex's mutual personal space issues. Both looked unsettled by it, but neither said anything to Darwin's breezy manner, leaning over to clear the table for Sean's card laying.  
  
"You girls want to join us?" Darwin asked, ignoring Hank and Alex's simultaneous murmurs that they weren't playing.  
  
Raven shook her head, but still settled down beside Sean, and Angel mirrored her on the boy's left. "No thanks, we'll just watch"  
  
With a glance back at Charles and Erik, the former whom watched the scene before him with a heavy sigh, Peter muted down his feelings and padded over to the closest single seat: hopping up into it and settling for watching Sean's nimble fingers shuffle the cards and deal.  
  
He heard Charles sigh again. The kind of exhausted sigh he'd heard many times from Tony after an argument over whether or not Peter was ready for the big leagues, or from Bruce whenever the Hulk came up in conversation.  
  
"We'll be back in a few hours" The telepath said quietly, earning himself a few affirmations. Erik shot Peter a steady look, a weight to it like he was sending the boy a silent message, as he paused at the door and didn't leave until Peter returned his somber nod.  
  
He thought he understood. Perhaps not as violently as Erik meant it, but he understood.  
  
If anyone came through that door that wasn't Charles, Erik or Moira.  
  
Be prepared.

* * *

  
For guy who seemed like his head was filled with air and jokes, Sean was sharp. For the longest time Peter didn't even notice what the guy was doing, he did it so well. Within half an hour of starting up the card game, their match had regressed into a bizarre game of Sean's own creation and muted smiles turned into guffawing laughter as Angel passionately argued the rules of Sean's 'game' with it's creator.  
  
"You said, no don't interrupt me, you said hearts trumped spades, but now you're saying your measly nine of spades trumps my queen of hearts? Come on, the queen of hearts? She runs this deck" Angel gestured to the table, which was more or less a mess of cards. "See this? This my girl's kingdom"  
  
Raven was doubled over, eyes streaming, leaning fully on Sean and with every shrieking sentence a grinning Angel made Darwin barked out another delightful laugh. Even Hank was laughing out loud, just about making his point.  
  
"She has a point, Sean. Regardless of house, her rank alone would set her above a nine of anything, assuming we're using a monarchical system" Hank wheezed out, red faced and pointing pathetically to the queen Angel was proudly swinging around for everyone to see. "Or have we suddenly changed to a democracy? Is there a coo underway?"  
  
Darwin cackled and Peter, through the mist in his eyes and the ache in his jaw, saw Alex cover his face at Hank's frank questions. The way Hank said it somehow made the image funnier, and Peter could see Alex shake his head, mouthing nerd to himself as he illuminated the room in a pale red glow like a happy blush. He'd been doing it for a while and more than a few times different sets of eyes darted over to the cheerful aura radiating from the moody teen.  
  
No one dared to mention it, under threat that he might stop.  
  
Sean jabbed a finger aggressively in Hank's direction. "That! That is exactly what's happening here! Down with the queen of hearts, viva la revolution girl"  
  
Darwin leaned back, missing the three of clubs Alex flicked at Sean, and slapped his thigh. Raven slipped off her chair.  
  
"No! No, revolution. Crush the treasonous spades, come on, Peter. Peter, my bug buddy, my insect club co-founder, back me up here" Angel beseeched to him, leaning over to swat Peter's arm over and over, ironically interrupting every wheezing attempt he made to do so.  
  
Somehow, without any of them noticing, Sean had managed to sink their fears and keep them afloat with carefully crafted whimsy.  
  
And just like that, with a vengeance, it came crashing down.  
  
Peter was beginning to think he'd gained the ability to jinx his own life.  
  
"... the freak's glowing?" A male voice filtered in through the window. Peter and Hank's heads lifted, the only ones to hear the comment over laughter and two inches of glass. On the other side, two passing patrol guards had stopped to gape through the window at them, namely at Alex: who remained blissfully unaware and vibrantly lit up.  
  
The older brunet ducked and caught Peter's righteous expression. He shook his head, not worth it. There was no real harm done. All the men were doing was questioning something they had never seen before. Not the best wording choice, but no one else had heard...  
  
Leave it alone, Parker.  
  
Leave it _alone_.  
  
"God damn, it is"  
  
Hank's eyes widened, his breathing changing and Peter wondered how no one else had noticed the man's distress. Across the table, the pair stared each other down.

It. It. It. It. It. It.  _It._  
  
"Now I've seen it all. One got wings, one crawls over the walls, that one that works here with those feet, and that one lights up like a... like a... aha! A faggot. Get it? The one's a faggot and literally a faggot"  
  
Hank shook his head frantically at Peter but to no avail, Spider-Man was getting up out of his seat. One word. One gosh darn, fudging word that Peter never wanted to hear ever again. One word. Said not once, not twice, but three times too many.  
  
All laughter but the roar of the two outside died when Peter hopped over the table and marched over to the far window where the guards were elbowing each other. Darwin made a small attempt to stop Peter in his tracks, launching up to follow him, but the boy danced away from Darwin's reaching hand.  
  
"Peter stop, stop. Don't make it w... Woh, woh just... stop. Peter"  
  
Darwin arms were all over him, pulling him away from the window, and Peter stopped dead in his tracks at last. Don't make it worse. In the background, he heard Angel whisper ask Sean what happened, but no one could answer because they hadn't heard.  
  
They hadn't heard... From their perspective, Peter had just flipped out for no reason.  
  
What was he going to do? Peter blinked back into himself, open eyes fixed on the wheezing faces of the men on the other side of the glass. They pointed at his dumb found expression, one even mimicking the look of shock and anger painted on Peter's face.  
  
"Peter?" Darwin questioned silently, hand planted on Peter's chest to halt his advance. "They saying something, kid?"  
  
He wanted to leave. He wanted to find Stark senior and work out a way home. The feeling of homesickness was choking, overwhelming. Unexpected tears burned in his eyes as the two men carried on laughing, poking a finger at Peter before shaking their heads and walking on: away from it all like it was no big deal at all.  
  
"I'm..." Not sorry.  
  
Darwin rubbed his shoulder, voice so soft it was a low murmur. "People always going to say stuff, everyone has something to say. I know you want to. Damn I know you want to stop them saying it all but if it's not them it'll be someone else"

The shorter mutant peeked up at him, lips parted in shock. 

"It ain't right, it ain't good, it sure as hell ain't fair. But I got you. We got you. We all got each other and it's good to know you got us too" Darwin sighed, smiling at the others, waving to their cautious faces, and patted Peter one last time. "Come on, let's finish this game. If there even is a way to finish it, huh Sean? How does one win Cassidy's Card Conundrum, man?"  
  
Peter let himself be guided back over to the couches, his chest aching for his own time and his own family.

We got you. 

It sounded selfish and ungrateful, but there was a whole other group of people he wished had his back right then too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one thing that broke my heart in First Class was how hostile the environment of the facility was for the kids in a way it didn't seem to be for Erik and Charles (we weren't shown anything, but I do think the two men got maybe a more subtle form thrown at them during their stay). They only showed one muted scene of the abuse the kids went through there, but I firmly believe there were a lot more instances- more extreme instances- over that time they spent there, a lot of it when Charles, Erik and Moira (their protectors) were away, that contributed to Angel's painful "we don't belong here". These people had been brought in, shown a small community where they could be who they are, and all of a sudden that promise of safety just gets ripped out from under them. From that one scene I'm certain there were plenty, plenty more moments where the kids were harassed and even attacked by the agents at the CIA facility; Angel's comment as she left with Shaw wasn't made lightly.
> 
> Peter has the same intolerance to slurs as I think a lot of us do now, stuff that passed in the 60s just doesn't fly to the average person from 2017 (unless you're a douchebag) so while Peter's not one to start fights I feel like he'd want to try and correct people for that kind of shit. Much to the bemusement of everyone else, whom all grew up in an entirely different social climate to him; expect more moments where Peter (and eventually the other mutants too) calls people out and doesn't get stopped by two inch glass and the crushing reality of 60s racial intolerance. 
> 
> And finally!! Howard Stark gets a mention. Peter's finally hit a break on what might help getting him home and now he just needs to find the Senior Stark. Which is going to be easier said than done my friends, and trust me there's going to be a BIG catch to Peter's idea.


	6. Chapter 6

Charles wants to have meetings with them all, one to one, like some kind of school therapist. Sean briefly looked suspicious, comically narrowing his eyes at the older man, asking if it was a job interview, and if they were going to be kicked back to the aquarium if they failed it.  
  
What the hell he meant by aquarium, no one but Charles seemed to know and the shorter man chuckled.  
  
"Of course not, Sean. The last two days have been rather a whirlwind and I haven't had the chance to sit and talk with everyone more privately" Blue eyes shone with honestly. "I know every little about you all aside from your names and what evolution gifted you"  
  
In eerie synchronization Raven and Alex snorted, and Charles shot them a disapproving glance.  
  
Erik and Moira were nowhere to be seen, and that put Peter at more ease. It's not that he doesn't like Moira, she seems like a lovely lady and there's something in the way she sets her jaw that reminds Peter of May when she geared up to chastise him for something, its just that both she and Erik have an odd air about them. In his own time, Peter's spider sense had been a low murmur he barely noticed until it spiked in warning, but here it was a constant hum. Like tinnitus in his ears that got louder when they, and others such as the CIA agents in the facility, were near.  
  
They weren't comparable though. Erik and Moira raised the volume, but the other agents set the bell ringing. Peter felt like a spooked horse here, in this time, and that constant anxiety was yet another on a long list of reasons he wanted to get home soon.  
  
Where either were, Peter didn't know, but having just Charles sitting among them in the recreatation room given to them made the whole thing seem more like a camping trip than a government training program.  
  
"I can either call you in alphabetically and at set appointment times" Charles rose his eyebrows at them all, and Angel made a disgusted sound at the idea as he expected. "Or you can decide amongst yourselves, and I'll wait in my office- Raven, for obvious reasons, you're exempt from this part"  
  
Raven put a hand to her chest, feigning exaggerated relief. "Phew, thank god for that. Don't worry guys, Charles'll go easy on you all"  
  
What follows is a moment of silence as Charles gets up, posture relaxed like he's not expecting any decisions just yet, and Peter finds his eyes drawn to the other recruits. Wondering. Normally he'd be content to volunteer to go first but this time feels reluctant. On the one hand Charles could help immeasurably with his problem, while on the other hand Charles could react badly and write Peter off as insane.  
  
Time travel was hard enough to believe in 2017, let alone 1962.  
  
Charles opened the door, and then as if remembering something turned back to them. "Do come in pai-"  
  
"Come in pairs, yes. We remember" Angel reminded, smiling with some false sweetness.  
  
The telepath nodded once and closed the door behind him.

* * *

  
The clock in the corner was distracting, or perhaps Peter was just letting it distract him.  
  
Sean's breathing in the other room was loud and Charles tapping a quiet beat on the leather arm rest of his chair. All things Peter found himself lost in over the expression on Charles face.  
  
Then, Charles chuckled.  
  
"Apologies, Peter, I'm not laughing at you. It's just between yourself and Mr. Summers I could almost be insulted" Charles smiled lightly. "I meant what I said, I don't bite. Nothing about this session is in place to make you uncomfortable, but I do understand your reluctance. I want to assure you that whatever you say in here is between us and in absolute confidence"  
  
_Did he?_ Peter highly doubted it. Unless Charles did root through his head and pull out the answers he wanted.  
  
Outside Sean gave a long sigh. Bored. Bored out of his mind and it had only been five minutes since he and Peter swapped over. Angel and Hank had gone first over three hours before- the tiny woman hooking her arm into the bewildered man's without warning and declaring that she was going to 'get this over and done with'- and returned with Angel's eyes raw from crying and Hank too looking suspiciously aggrieved. Then it was Alex and Darwin who cast each other blank looks and shrugs, coming to some silent agreement to head out.  
  
Alex and Darwin didn't come back, glaringly, and Raven prompted Peter and Sean to head off in a soft tone. They hadn't asked, the look on Raven's face was enough.  
Just before he closed the door on his session with Sean, Peter had jumped at the surprise mental message from Charles to at the very least attempt not to listen in.  
  
Waiting through Sean's session had been long and boring, and Peter at the time had considered making a break for it. Now sitting before Charles the spider wished he had.  
  
"Sorry" Peter grimaced. "I've had sessions like these before... they're not my thing"  
  
Charles bowed his head in empathy. "A few of the others said much the same so you're not alone in that respect"  
  
"So what did you want to ask me, sir?"  
  
There was a glass of water on the table beside his chair, and over in the far end of the room Peter could see more glasses of varying fullness laid out, so he nervously picks it up to take a sip. Despite the cooling relief Peter's mouth was dry immediately after he put the glass back down.  
  
"There's no need for any sirs here. All I want to do here is understand you better, you may share or withhold anything you wish. There's no obligation to tell me everything and especially not things you're not comfortable with, but I will tell you now the more you are able to share the easier my job in catering to your care will be" The Englishman recited softly, resting a little easier in his chair with hands resting passively on his crossed knees. There was a long pause as Peter squirmed to think of anything to say. "Do you want to tell me about the incident last night? The others told me you got upset-"

"No" Peter interrupted with a flush.   
  
"Very well. Perhaps you could tell me how you came to be outside the other day?" Charles smoothly moved on, not minding the boy's snap and Peter swallowed thickly as flashes of the vicious war burned in his memory. The telepath's expression shifted from openness to concern, detecting the emotional change in his student, but he didn't probe for intimate details.  
  
"I... I just appeared" The boy said eventually, deciding to just answer honestly. "One moment I was in one place- and then suddenly I was outside"  
  
  
Charles nodded like that made perfect sense, quirking a smile out of Peter despite everything. The man looked like every other therapist Peter had met in the years since his parents' deaths, the same habits and movements from them all, no matter how bizarre or nonsensical what Peter said was: and randomly appearing was easily the strangest thing said in the room until then by anyone.  
  
"I did sense your distress when you arrived here; a sudden spike of intense fear and... Well" Charles licked his lips, thinking of a way to say it. "There are no words to accurately describe this feeling, but Peter you thought you were going to die"  
  
Peter closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath.  
  
"Yeah" Is all he croaked out.  
  
Sean's breathing outside filled Peter's mind for a moment; finding the once distracting sound comforting. The normalcy of a bored teenager in the next room grounded Peter in the foreign world and bit his cheek to fight down the sudden influx of memories of Ned and Michelle, hell even Flash's teasing creeped up to the forefront of Peter's mind making him ache for the simplicity of homework deadlines and decathlon meetings to attend. Having the concerns of rescuing cats, stolen bikes and preventing thefts. All of it ached heavy in Peter's heart and even though he had barely been in this place- wherever it was- for a few days it felt like centuries. As great as the Mutants were they didn't fill the void of Peter's real and beloved life.  
  
He just wanted to go home.  
  
"Do you have any family near by?" Charles broke the silence, sensing the homesickness, and giving a soft hum when Peter shook his head. "Is there anyone for you? Anyone we can perhaps track down and reunite you with?"  
  
Peter nearly shook his head again before snapping to a realisation.  
  
"Really?" The teenager perked up, clearing his throat to usher the raw emotions plaguing him away. "Can you find people here? I mean like a phone book or-"  
  
"There is a device here that amplifies by abilities, it's how I found the others" The professor intoned giving Peter a brief moment of pause.  
  
Huh. Okay.  
  
"Could you use that to find my uh... my uncle?" Uncle? Whatever worked.  
  
Charles straightened in his chair, knowing Peter was lying about the relation but eager to help regardless. The young man was an enigma to Charles but he was unwilling to force a crack: everything he wanted to know about Peter would have to come in due time it seemed, he wasn't like Sean, Darwin or Hank who freely gave Charles a candid retelling of their lives, nor even Angel and Alex who only after gentle coaxing told Charles anything. Peter for whatever reason was far more set in avoiding the older man knowing about him and his origins to the point where there almost seemed to be a more concrete purpose behind it than simply being secretive or conscious.  
  
"Of course, I can do my best. What's your uncle's name?"  
  
Peter gave a deep breath. _Here it goes..._  
  
"Stark. Howard Stark"

* * *

  
**_Get off me._**  
  
Peter jerked awake, sitting up right in his bed on immediate alert. Through the darkness he could see it was late: almost 2am and hours since Peter had anticlimactically left Charles to attempt to find Stark Senior. For a moment he wondered if his spider sense had woken him but then the voice came again, this time more urgent.  
  
"I said get off me, don't touch me"  
  
The spider angled his head towards the sound. Towards the door. It was muffled, like whomever was speaking was further away and he narrowed his eyes, cautiously slipping out of his bed. The cold tiles on the pads of his feet shocked away the last clouds of sleep.  
  
"Come on baby, we just want a little show. We know you're the one who gave it out" A thumping sound. "Ouch, hey. Come on it's been a long day, we just want to relax"  
Ice rolled down his body as Peter realised what was happening, and before his brain caught up, Peter smacked a hand down on Darwin's bed beside him; jerking the older man awake.  
  
Large dark eyes blinked in confusion. "P-ter? Wus'goin on? D'you need the-"  
  
"Shh" Peter whispered, holding up a hand.  
  
Darwin silenced immediately, tensing at the tone and sensing this wasn't about a buddying system for a late night bathroom break. With stealth Peter quitely admired, Darwin rose out of his bed and stood beside Peter, his attention on the boy and waiting on some kind of cue. Then, it happened.  
"I said leave me alone! Hey, no!"  
  
_Angel_.  
  
This time Darwin's head snapped up, the woman's shouting loud enough for him to hear too, and looking back Peter can't remember who tore the door open first; only that he and Darwin sprinted towards the source. They wound through the corridors towards the girl's dorm, only a short distance away from their own around the end corner and skidded around said corner in bare feet and striped pajamas into fully decked up CIA agents.  
  
Peter and the first agent, with a hauntingly bushy mustache, blinked in shock at each other from the collision. The man looking at Peter like he couldn't comprehend where he'd come from. Off to the side, Darwin bypassed the man he'd bumped into and went straight for the final man with a vice grip on Angel's arm. Darwin's warm skin shifted, rippled, and became strong and armored, easily crunching down on the tallest attacker's arm.  
  
He cried out in pain, releasing Angel's arm, but as she darted away her shouted warning came too late and the butt of a gun cracked on Darwin's temple. Which, to Peter's surprise, did nothing but make the tallest mutant tilt his head at the agent as if to say 'really?': then Darwin pushed the agent over, enough to send him to his ass but not enough to do any harm. As quick as he could react Peter twisted around and kicked a balding agent lightly in the gut, knocking him off his course running at Darwin with a happy cry of 'whoopsie'.  
  
Then, he saw in his peripherals Angel swing a back hand across mustache agent's face hard enough his head snapped to one side. Peter offered her a high five.  
"Let's go" She hissed instead, ignoring his hand, harsh enough Peter wondered if acid was about to release. Thank yous, he guessed, would quite happily wait until they were away from the angry looking trio.  
  
_Wait. Trio?_  
  
Agents traveled in pai-  
  
Angel shrieked in time with a gun swinging at Peter's face and the hiss of spider sense, and the arachnid mutant darted away in the last second.  
  
"There you are" Peter blurted out, sounding delighted. "Number four. You know it's not nice sneaking up on people"  
  
Darwin whispered something to Angel in a bemused tone, just as balding and mustache jumped the pair from behind.  
  
"Piggy back rides-" Peter cut off to punch Four and turned to fire a web at rising One, whom despite clutching his badly bruised arm looked ready to murder. "Are day time play, fellas"  
  
Mustache buried his fist in Angel's hair, his other hand clamping down on her throat. Peter took a step to approach. But then...  
  
"Uh, guys?" Peter blinked around them. The dark corridor, once barely just lit from the moon light outside, had a sudden soft red hue that filled their scuffle like a sun rise.  
Oh sugar honey iced tea.  
  
Had his had his old mask on, Peter imagined the eye pieces widening comically with mechanical swirrs.  
  
"Alex, wait!" Darwin shouted, shunting off Balding and reaching out. Not towards Alex but over to Angel.  
  
Peter watched, like a back seat driver, the scene play out with jaw hanging and skin prickling with the intensity of heat radiating off the blonde. Mustache holding onto Angel suddenly lurched back as if he had been hit by a train, shooting down the hall until he smacked- hard and brutal- against the end wall. Darwin grabbed hold of Angel's waist, his legs fusing with the floor and his body curling around her to protect her from the same fate. Rushing along the corridor came a shock wave that shattered the glass in the numerous doors: washing over the surroundings like an invisible tidal wave.  
  
At the same time Mustache flew, Balding and Four smacked into the corridor walls either side of Peter, and he braced himself with 'sticky feet' against an unseen force pushing against him: trying to send him flying down the corridor along side Mustache. He trembled from the intensity. He watched as the already downed One skidded along the floor as if being pushed, and smacked into the edge of the wall too. Peter's legs shook harder, and harder, and his skin stung from how hot it was... so hot... there was sweat beading on his head. His breathing felt heavy- he wasn't sure how much longer he could take it...  
  
And then suddenly it was gone. Mustache, Four and Balding flopped to the ground like ragdolls and Peter stumbled when the pressure pushing him back abruptly stopped.  
  
Breathing heavily Darwin straightened up and released Angel, who was too dumbstruck to care about the windswept fizzing array her hair had been blown into: strands sticking to her chap-stick and her lashes. Dark eyes wide and staring at the source of the wave.  
  
In between them all in the T of the two corridors, dressed in disarmingly soft blue pajamas, bare foot and hair sticking up from sleep; stood a hyperventilating Alex Summers.  
For a moment no one said a word. Too shocked. Too breathless.  
  
Even Peter jumped when a crackle of loud laughter snapped them to their senses.  
  
All conscious eyes turned to stare behind Alex where the first corridor- filled with shattered glass neatly parted in one long path- rolled out for what seemed like miles. Half way along and much further down than the door of their dorm lay Sean sprawled out. He looked back down at them with his face red from laughing, his blanket wrapped around him tightly and covered in small gems of broken glass. Near by one of his slippers had been shot off his foot. Like Angel, Sean's hair was a blustery mess.  
  
He waved at them. Only Peter waved back.  
  
"Woh" Sean whooped, his voice echoing from the distance.  
  
Darwin detached his legs from the floor, and cupped his hands to his mouth to shout down. "You okay, Cassidy?"  
  
The red head seemed to search for words. He sat up, clutching his head, and huffed in disbelief. As Peter came back to his senses, he noticed a few small cuts from the glass over Sean's jaw and feet, but otherwise the blanket had taken most of the damage. "I mean... Ow! But also wow! Did you see that?"  
  
No, actually, Peter hadn't. He'd been too busy feeling as though he was burning up on the surface of the sun.  
  
"Peter" A soft hand brushed his cheek, and Peter flinched away from Alex's surprisingly gentle touch. "I burned you..."  
  
"I'll be fine" The spider whispered, flexing his jaw and feeling his healing factor kicking in already. He looked up at Alex's ghostly pale face and devastated expression, and dropped his hands onto Alex's chest to ground the older boy. "It'll be all healed by this time tomorrow night. Promise- Hey, Alex. Alex it's okay, I'm okay. I'll be fine"  
  
Unaware of Peter's blistered flesh, Sean laughed as Darwin jogged over to check on him. "I rolled. We need to rename Alex rolling man, man"  
  
Angel let out a soft hiss, crouched beside Balding opposite Peter. "Alex man, you burned him too"  
  
She looked up at the boys nearest to her and Peter sucked in a breath at Balding's reddened, peeling skin. He supposed he looked much the same. Same as a small patch on Angel's leg, not quite protected by Darwin's powers.  
  
Looking around them to where Mustache was slumped against the far wall, to where Four and Balding were sun burned against the corners, and lastly One skidded down the skirting boards: Peter suddenly released how lucky Sean was that such a long stretch of corridor rolled out behind him. If Alex held out any longer, or if the main corridor were any shorter, Sean would have been pasted against the end of it like wallpaper: just like the agents. Just like Peter almost was, had his enhanced strength and sticky feet not kept him in place.  
  
Angel's arm threaded through Alex's, and then Peter's. Her expression shaky and exhausted, and her voice barely above a whisper. "Come on boys, let's go. Let's go... Let's just go"  
  
In the back of his mind, Peter thought Angel looked ready to pack up their things and leave if it came to it. Leave behind the facility, Charles, Erik, leave behind everything just to escape the fall out of... this.  
  
"Shit, Peter are you ok- Oh, god" Sean blurted out, noticing for the first time the severity of the situation as a shaking Angel listlessly guided her equally shell shocked boys away from the maimed attackers. The trio passed them, wordlessly, and instead of going into her dorm with Raven down in the opposite direction, towards the fallen attackers, Angel went inside the boy's dorm with Peter and Alex.  
  
Sean looked up at Darwin, who grimly studied the scene some yards away. "How the hell are we going to explain this to Charles? Are they... Holy shit, are they dead?"  
  
"I dunno, Sean. I got no idea" Darwin rubbed his mouth and with a wary set to his brow padded over to check the necks of each of the men. As the door to the boy's dorm clicked shut behind the trio, Darwin nodded to Sean to which the red head let out a rush of air in relief.  
  
Raven's blue face appeared from around the corner, luminous yellow eyes wide and woken from the commotion. "Guys, what happened?"  
  
Sean combed his fingers through his hair, dislodging glass as he did so. "Raven... We'll uh-"  
  
"We'll tell you in the morning" Darwin finished for him, looking out across the devastated corridors with something close to fear on his face. Not of Alex. But rather for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... It's been months!! I know. I had thought I would discontinue this story as there has been a lot of stuff happening in my life meaning that updates on stories were unlikely, but as of how things seemed to have calmed down and after THAT infinity war I wanted to get back into the swing of things and keep myself occupied until the sequel. As of Infinity War this story is overwhelmingly canon divergent xD.
> 
> One thing that always bugged me about how Alex's powers are presented in the film is that... well it's bullshit. They completely missed how his powers work (especially how he died in Apocalypse, don't get me started on how inaccurate that is). In the comics, Alex's powers are far more destructive and immense than the movie portrays.
> 
> His abilities are omnidirectional waves or blasts when he doesn't have anything to focus it, like his suit or gauntlets, and what they show in the movie is just awful. Embarrassing even. The effect of his powers therefore have been altered a little in this, mostly the fact that they are omnidirectional and they're more like the force fields he has in the comics: which is why they sent everyone FLYING away and burning up, like an explosion, rather than these weird plasma slicing hula hoops. Sean was a fun little add on that I couldn't resist, he's going to have some cuts and bruises but he's a hell of a lot better off than anyone else is, he just rolled for days down that corridor. Peter's right, had the corridor been shorter or Alex held his powers up for longer, Sean would have gone crunch when the runway eventually ran out.
> 
> And if you're wondering where Hank is in that last scene, he has his own CIA room that he's still using. (Totally didn't forget to write him in...).


	7. Author's Note - Computer Problems

Hi everyone reading, just to let people know this story isn't abandoned and isn't on another hiatus. The problem is that my plan of updating twice a month went out the window because my computer has decided to die.

This means I've lost the entire 34 chapter plan for this story along with the literally just finished seventh chapter *screams*

I don't know for sure let how much is lost and how much I remember of my plans for it, but I'll do my best and keep you guys updated.

Hopefully I can get a chapter out for you soon. For some reason it didn't occur to me that I could post an author's note on the actual story rather than wondering how else to let people know ... 

Love to everyone still reading this story and to the reader who mentioned the odd paragraph spacing, thank you it had completely slipped past when I copy and pasted chapters from word to here so I'll keep an eye on that in the future. It really means a lot that people are still interested in this story and when I'm done screaming hopefully I can recover the plan

**Author's Note:**

> So this idea came to me on a whim, and I'm rusty with writing long stories so you'll have to forgive any small errors.  
> Some reference notes:
> 
> Peter is 17 as of this story- his timeline is set during Infinity War, during which I think Peter will be around 17 considering he is 15 in 2016 when Homecoming is set.  
> Sean is 18, and Alex is 17 just going from age old headcanons from how they behave in XMFC.  
> Hank, Raven and Angel are 25, 28 and 22 respectively.  
> Charles, Darwin, Moira and Erik are 31, 32, 30 and 33 respectively.  
> Born Mutants, as the case with Wanda and Pietro, don't exist in the MCU and I've reversed this here in that everyone with abilities as of 1962 are natural born Mutants. Mutates like Wade (and Peter) don't exist yet, not until the 90s, so Peter in the XMCU is a natural born Mutant. In his own timeline he is still enhanced from the spider bite, his consciousness moved over from one body into another.


End file.
